Aluminum alloy conductor and method of producing the same

Abstract

An aluminum alloy conductor, having a specific aluminum alloy composition of Al—Fe—Cu—Mg—Si—(TiN) or Al—Fe—(Cu / Mg / Si)—(TiN), in which, on a cross-section vertical to a wire-drawing direction, a grain size is 1 to 20 μm, and a distribution density of a second phase with a size of 10 to 200 nm is 1 to 102 particles / μm2; and a production method thereof.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to an aluminum alloy conductor that is used as a conductor of an electrical wiring, and a method of producing the same.BACKGROUND ART[0002]Hitherto, a member in which a terminal (connector) made of copper or a copper alloy (for example, brass) is attached to electrical wires comprised of conductors of copper or a copper alloy, which is called a wire harness, has been used as an electrical wiring for movable bodies, such as automobiles, trains, and aircrafts. In weight reduction of movable bodies in recent years, studies have been progressing on use of aluminum or an aluminum alloy that is lighter than copper or a copper alloy, as a conductor for the electrical wiring.[0003]The specific gravity of aluminum is about one-third of that of copper, and the electrical conductivity of aluminum is about two-thirds of that of copper (when pure copper is considered as a criterion of 100% IACS, pure aluminum has about 66% IACS). Therefore, in o...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention introduces an aluminum alloy conductor that has excellent mechanical strength, flexibility, and electrical conductivity. The conductor also exhibits high resistance to bending fatigue and stress relaxation. Therefore, it can be utilized in various applications such as movable bodies, doors, trunks, hoods, engine rooms, and the like. Additionally, the conductor is easy to work with and has improved productivity due to its excellent plastic working characteristics.

Problems solved by technology

There are some problems in using the aluminum as a conductor of an electrical wiring for movable bodies.

One of the problems is improvement in resistance to bending fatigue.

When the aluminum conductor is used in an opening and closing part, if the conductor is poor in resistance to bending fatigue, it is concerned that the conductor is broken in the use thereof, to result in a problem of lack of durability and reliability.

A second problem is improvement in resistance to stress relaxation.

In a connection unit between an aluminum conductor and a terminal, when the stress relaxation phenomenon occurs in the aluminum conductor, the contact pressure at the connection unit is lowered, and thus electric connection cannot be secured.

Thus, those areas give a use environment, in which the stress relaxation phenomenon is apt to occur, which poses a very serious problem.

A third problem is improvement in workability.

When an aluminum conductor is poor in workability, wire breakage occurs in the plastic working, and the productivity of the conductor cannot be improved.

In addition to that, when such an aluminum conductor is used as an electrical wiring, there is a concern of breakage of the conductor, which arises a problem of the lack of durability and reliability.

Further, although an alloy in which various additive elements are added is excellent in mechanical strength, the alloy has such problems, in some cases, that the electrical conductivity is lowered due to solid-solution phenomenon of the additive elements in aluminum, and that wire breakage may occur in wire-drawing due to formation of excess intermetallic compounds in aluminum.

However, the electrical wire conductor described in Patent Literature 1 is too high in tensile strength, and thus an operation of attaching it to a vehicle body may become difficult in some cases.

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